Current mood:	pleased
Current music:	Your Mother Should Know, by The Beatles

The main topic of discussion in Environmental Ethics today was the reasoning behind romantic re-identification with nature, and the pitfalls that it encompasses. Halfway through the class period, Professor Kate Norlock led all of the students out into the graveyard and had us sprawl out in the grass while she recited "Ode On A Grecian Urn" by John Keats. "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." What an absolutely splendid way to conduct a late morning outing. I felt so blissful lying on the ground, listening to her voice and peering up at the sky and trees above me while squinting through the intense sunlight. It proceeded to get more magical, as Kate Norlock started to discuss the imperative to play and appreciate nature. In the middle of this, an adorable Polish toddler and his mother wandered by and the little boy crawled into the center of the group and loudly started expressing his joy at his surroundings, fitting in perfectly with the discussion. I opted to go for the experience rather than remaining fully immersed in the conversation, and he and I had a great time playing peek-a-boo among the tombstones while the rest of the class chuckled at our antics. He was such a sweet little boy, burbling with laughter every time I peeked at him over a grave marker and often running around them to give me a hug. After class we ran all over the graveyard, as I pretended to frantically attempt to escape and he gleefully brought me down with a tackle while screaming in Polish. When it was time for them to leave he didn't want to go, and his mother thanked me and asked me to walk with them towards the parking lot so that he would follow.

I had lunch with Cassandra Vernon while sitting underneath the tree with the tire swing at the campus center, and we swung around on it for a bit. I'm really glad that I've been getting to know her that we get to eat together so often. Shortly afterwards I ran into Karl Hannula, and he invited me to accompany him on an expedition to the North Woods, along with Kate E. and Kate S. I gladly accepted, both because it's been quite a long time since I'd been to the North Woods and because I don't really know Karl that well (though I like him!) and was delighted to be invited along. The four of us crashed through the woods creating our own trails for nearly three hours, with many endearing conversations mixed in with many quiet moments of simply appreciating the surroundings. I got sunburned on my face, but didn't mind.

Mid-afternoon was awesome, because I went to a lecture by Keith McHenry. Keith motherfucking McHenry, the founder of the now international Food Not Bombs movement. On the way there my headphones were blaring and Jen Yogi and I sweetly strolled with our arms around each other. The lecture was great, both because it was a really cool topic and because Keith McHenry is an extraordinarily good public speaker. He relayed the history of how Food Not Bombs came into existence, and managed to incite his audience into hysterical laughter even while shocking them at the terrible hypocrisy and discrimination directed towards his public outreach efforts. I'd really like to join the Food Not Bombs chapter in D.C. over the summer.

At 8:15 I went out to the admissions field to attend World Carnival and see the local band Factorial play. They had an awesome stage presence, which included Will Hassett stripping down to play guitar in his stylish plaid underwear and general silliness and stage antics. I formed a mosh pit with Richard Hell and Dan Castle and felt grateful to be part of that rocking atmosphere.

A bunch of people went off to find parties, and I stuck around to see the Beatles cover band The Mahoney Brothers play and ended up running into Lizzie. We spent the concert together at the front of the stage. At first I didn't think much of the band. Most of the energy was coming from the wildly enthused crowd, no surprise with all of the Beatles fanatics on this campus. The set started to pick up after a few songs though, and I got really into it. There was some asshole in a green shirt who kept flailing around and bumping into us, when he wasn't grind dancing with his girlfriend and knocking her into us. I seriously wanted to smack him but it was otherwise a good concert experience. I wouldn't say that the Mahoney Brothers added their own special and unique artistic twist to the music, but it was still a lot of fun to hear so many songs that I love performed life.

Of course, it couldn't compare with the other Beatles cover bands that I saw a few years ago. Nothing will ever measure up to going to the Beatles bar in St. Petersburg called Liverpool and seeing loads of men singing Beatles songs in thick Russian accents and getting hit on by a drunken Ringo impersonator in front of my parents. Nothing.

Towards the end of the night I found my way to SC 9 and hung out for a few hours. Kt was adorably wasted and full of cute nonsensical murmurs. There was an extended session of outdoor music provided by Pete Lance and Jason Hurley, including "At the Bottom of Everything" by Bright Eyes. I had a great time dancing with Kyle, Emily, Kat, and Richard Hell.

Also, I asked Pete out and he turned me down, an event which unfolded in a pretty hilarious way. After everyone else had gone inside, I asked if I could speak with him briefly, and after a brief moment of hesitation said, "This is probably silly of me. I just wanted to say that I think you're totally awesome, and I've kind of been crushing on you this semester -- "
"Wait, I thought you were a lesbian!" he blurted out.
"No, I'm not. (Pause) Wow, I guess that makes this awkward," I laughed. "Well, now that my orientation has been established, let me know if you have any interest, and perhaps let me take you out some time."
He explained that he'd just gotten out of a relationship at the beginning of this year and wasn't really looking to get involved with anyone even on a casual basis, but that he was flattered and that he'd like to hang out with me more, with several exclamations of "Shucks!" scattered in. It was cute, and I'm happy with how that turned out.

We went back inside and I stuck around to hear a few more songs and then headed out, because it was three in the morning and I felt too tired to dance anymore.

All in all, a lovely day. Signing out now. And of course, may your suds continue to bring you joy.